Splashing down the East Fork of the Jemez (or "Jemez Box Canyon Lite")

Summer visitors are welcome!  Some old hands could be really helpful, too.  

 

In brief, this is a hike along the trail paralleling the east fork of the

Jemez river, then diverging from the trail and splashing down the river that

is in some respects a shallow box canyon.  At a pre-determined point we will

depart the river and return by the trail paralleling at some distance. This

year Zack will be leading from the front (no one can outrun Zack) and Kei will

be leading from the rear, that is to say, proceeding at an enjoyable pace and

taking in the views.

This will be a 'lite' version of this hike. This more moderate version avoids

the need for car-shuttling and assisted descents as chronicled on that site

(btw, you can interpret Momo's caption "The canyon goes on and on" as

"fast forward to the end"--the full hike is a rather long affair).  Be

prepared for 3-4 hours at a moderate pace.

Be prepared to get wet.  I learned the hard way the first time I did this that

middle of the summer or not, cotton clothing isn't the best choice, and I

drowned my camera.  Rubber/plastic outdoor sandals are great, sport shoes will

work.  Footwear that doesn't affix positively to one's feet, like flip flops,

are a thoroughly bad idea.  The Los Alamos thrift shops typically have

Teva/Keen/Chaco-type sandals and sports-type shoes for cheap.

Hat and sunscreen strongly recommended, water essential, snacks as desired.

Many find walking poles helpful to probe for bottomless potholes.

While we won't be intentionally swimming you need to be able to handle

yourself in water, e.g., able to extricate yourself from the aforementioned

potholes.

We'll get an early start to avoid the possibility of getting caught in an

afternoon storm.  Let's plan to depart Sullivan field parking lot, carpooling as

preferred, at 8:00a.m. sharp Saturday June 18, so plan to get there by

7:45a.m. to get organized and signed in.  From there it's 30 minutes' drive

(nearly exactly) to the Las Conchas trailhead.  Note that if the Las Conchas

trailhead parking area is full, at that time of the day there should still be

plenty of space just short of there at the Cattle Call Wall climbing area.

No need to sign up in advance, just show up on time and you're in.